DRINKING WATER

testing-for-yesterday's-water Testing For Yesterday's Water In A PFAS World

Relying on assumptions when designing water treatment systems creates unnecessary financial and operational risks. Adopting predictive modeling and data-driven testing provides the precise, actionable insights required to optimize performance, manage costs, and ensure compliance.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Unlocking The Flow: The Transformative Value Of Meter Data Management For Water Utilities

    MDM systems transform raw meter data into actionable intelligence, enhancing operational efficiency, driving proactive leak detection, improving billing accuracy, and supporting vital water conservation initiatives.

  • Key West Resort Utilities Maximizes Reuse And Nutrient Recovery

    Water scarcity poses unique challenges to KW Resort Utilities Corp. (KWRU), the utility firm that provides wastewater management, wastewater recovery, and wastewater treatment in the region. KWRU began operation in the late 1960s and has worked hard over the decades to keep up with wastewater needs as population and tourism have boomed, spurred by land reclamation and development. 

  • TotalCare Condition Audit Results In Energy Savings Of 80% And Improved Controls

    Xylem TotalCare Condition Audit, an inspection and recommendation program that helps plant operators find ways to lower maintenance costs by identifying inefficiencies in the operation of water and wastewater equipment, was elected to audit the American Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in California.

  • Stay Grounded: Avoiding Mag Meter Mishaps

    Electromagnetic (mag) meters are a desirable metering choice for their incredible accuracy and low to no maintenance required over its lifespan. Operating with no moving parts, the appeal is high – however, the ability to troubleshoot in-field is challenging and time-consuming. Luckily, there’s a major contributing factor in installing an effective mag meter that can set you (and your operations) up for success: grounding.

  • Theoretical Operation Of High-Efficiency Ultraviolet Water Treatment Chamber

    The NeoTech Aqua ReFleX™ water purification chambers are the most efficient and compact units available today. They require an order of magnitude less energy and less than 25% of the system volume to achieve the same or better purification result as competing chambers. This is the first in a series of three white papers explaining the benefits of these systems. By J. R. Cooper, Ph.D, NeoTech Aqua Solutions, Inc.

  • Advancing The Potential For Stormwater Reuse: Investigation Of Water Quality And Treatment

    Managing stormwater runoff is a complex environmental challenge for communities across the country. As stormwater runoff flows into nearby waterways, it can collect various pollutants including trash, chemicals, oils, and dirt, which can lead to environmental and public health impacts.

  • Case Study: Seawater Desalination At Rabigh Refinery Saudi Aramco’s RABIGH Refinery in Saudi Arabia wanted to install facility for 10000 TPD Seawater Desalination for the industrial use. The facility was supposed to be a BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) basis. By Aquatech International Corporation
  • What Is Activated Carbon?

    Although the term granular activated carbon is used generically, it can refer to dozens of similar – but not identical- adsorbents. Depending on raw material, method and degree of activation and other factors, activated carbons can perform differently in various applications.

  • Eliminating A Silent Killer — A Critical Review On The Viability Of Decentralized Arsenic Removal Systems For Rural Communities

    Arsenic is a global environmental health issue. Since it was recognized in the nineties many techniques have been developed on the remediation on arsenic contaminated drinking water. Solving people’s exposure through drinking water to arsenic is, however, a complex problem.

  • Earth Day: Alabama's Iron And Steel Manufacturing Contributes To Our Environment

    I was in fifth grade on the first Earth Day. There was an abandoned earth mover in the woods near my elementary school, and Mrs. Fields’ social studies class painted it with bright colors to improve our visual environment. It was 1970, Richard Nixon was President, and later that year he would establish the Environmental Protection Agency.

    Little did I know then that Earth Day is about science, there are economics within environmentalism, and I would have a career promoting stewardship of the earth.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

In an era where every drop of water counts, LeakZon is proud to announce the launch of WEAD – the most advanced Water Loss Management (WLM) platform on the market. This groundbreaking AI-powered solution is set to transform how utilities, municipalities, and multifamily property owners manage their water distribution networks.

The OPTIFLUX 5100 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) with a high-tech ceramic measuring tube for demanding process flows. It is particularly suited for applications in the chemical processing industry, the minerals and mining sector as well as in any other sectors of industry where highly aggressive or abrasive liquids occur. The EMF is the ideal solution for harsh process conditions with temperatures up to +180°C / +356°F, aggressive chemicals and solid content (up to 10%).

The Proline Promag W 400 electromagnetic flowmeter is a versatile standard flowmeter for the water and wastewater industry.

FILTRASORB® granular activated carbon (GAC) represents Calgon Carbon’s signature product line, providing over 60 years of successful contaminant removal. Developed for the removal of organic compounds from water, Calgon Carbon’s best-in-class FILTRASORB products have the trifecta of key activated carbon attributes: high overall performance, strength/durability, and competitive pricing. Acting as a dual-purpose media, FILTRASORB provides both filtration and adsorption for treating surface water and groundwater in the production of clean, safe drinking water.

The SoundPrint® AFO Continuous Remote Monitoring Platform is a proactive pipeline monitoring solution that uses acoustic fiber optic (AFO) technology to detect structural deterioration in prestressed concrete cylinder pipelines (PCCP). By continuously listening for wire breaks and other anomalies, the system enables utilities to assess pipeline health in real time, reducing the risk of catastrophic failures and extending asset life. Data is securely transmitted to a cloud-based dashboard, providing operators with actionable insights for maintenance and capital planning.

The Tri-Corr Touch Pro represents a breakthrough in leak detection technology. It features improvements throughout the leak noise processing path to improve performance, especially in the most challenging leak detection situations.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

On Wednesday, November 19, 2014, at 10:15 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing entitled “Cyanotoxins in Drinking Water."

"Wastewater Dan” talks with FOX 4 News Kansas City about drought conditions in California and procedures to conserve water in the home. He also demonstrates the use of a total dissolved solids (TDS) meter to test drinking water quality, and interprets the results.

NASA scientists used tree rings to understand past droughts and climate models incorporating soil moisture data to estimate future drought risk in the 21st century.

Through a partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Law Enforcement Division – DWR is able to provide funding for Luna, a seven-year-old German Shepard from the Czech Republic, who is trained to protect her handler, apprehend suspects, and detect various threats to Delta species and environments.

Check out this brief video with Greg, and industry veteran and our Product Manager for Measurement technologies, as he provides a lowdown on the new AWWA Standard covering solid-state meters which are increasingly being adopted by water utilities of all sizes.

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.